How to save email with attachments

How to save email with attachments in one file: download the message as .eml (Gmail: Download message) or .msg (Outlook: drag to the desktop or File, Save As); both formats keep the attachments inside. A PDF made with Print does not. SaveMail opens the file in your browser, renders the message with the attachment list, and extracts the files one by one or as a ZIP, with nothing uploaded.

Which file keeps the attachments inside

The question "save email and attachments as one file" has a precise answer: the message formats do, the document formats do not.

So the rule is: for a record, keep the .eml or .msg; for a readable copy, add a PDF. Format background: what is an EML file, what is an MSG file.

Have the email as a file (EML, MSG, MBOX)? Convert it to PDF in your browser: nothing is uploaded.

How to save email with attachments in Outlook

1. Open a folder window (Explorer or Finder) next to Outlook and drag the message from the list into it. Outlook writes a .msg file named after the subject, attachments included.
2. Or open the message, choose File, Save As, keep the type as Outlook Message Format (.msg) and save. Text Only and HTML in the same menu drop the attachments.
3. For many messages, select them all (Ctrl+A) and drag the selection; you get one .msg per message. For a whole mailbox with folders, File, Open and Export, Export to a file, Outlook Data File (.pst).

If you only want the files, not the message, use Save All Attachments on the attachment line. Bulk variants are on download all attachments in Outlook, and the full export story is on export Outlook emails.

How to save Gmail emails with attachments

1. Open the message and click the three dots in its top-right corner.
2. Choose Download message. Gmail saves an .eml with the attachments inside.
3. For a whole label or the entire account, use Google Takeout and select Mail; the result is an .mbox file that holds every message with attachments.

Download message works per message, not per thread; download each reply you need. Apple Mail users get the same .eml by dragging a message from the list to a Finder folder, and Mailbox, Export Mailbox gives an .mbox. Attachment-only downloads for Gmail are covered on download all attachments from Gmail.

Open the file, get the PDF and the attachments

An .eml or .msg is a complete archive, but nobody can read it without a mail client. SaveMail makes it readable without installing anything:

1. Drop the file on the converter. It is parsed by JavaScript in the browser tab; there is no upload endpoint and no account.
2. The message renders with From, To, Cc, Date, Subject and Message-ID, the body with inline images resolved, and the attachment list with names and sizes.
3. Press Save as PDF. The browser's print dialog produces a text PDF; the attachment list is part of the page.
4. Click an attachment to download it, or download all of them as a ZIP.

File the PDF, the ZIP and the original .eml or .msg together in one folder named by date and subject; that set answers "what was sent, when, and with what" without opening Outlook. MBOX files open the same way, one message at a time (MBOX to PDF).

Limits and side questions

• No single PDF with the files embedded. Neither Print nor SaveMail embeds attachments in the PDF; they are listed and downloaded separately.
• Encrypted mail is shown as encrypted; attachments cannot be extracted.
• PST files do not open in the browser. Export .msg files from Outlook, or see PST to PDF.
• Large attachments in .msg extract slowly in the browser; Outlook's Save All Attachments is faster for gigabyte-size files.
• Reply with attachments in Outlook. Reply strips attachments by design; use Forward, or drag the files from the original into the reply. The add-ins that appear in searches do exactly that.

Frequently asked questions